MF 1030 with FEL or Yanmar 2620D?? Things to consider on purchase

[longrange2]

I am looking at purchasing a tractor in the next few weeks. I have about 10 acres of pasture to mow (infrequent here in Colorado), and a gravel drive to plow in the winter, scrape in the summer. I have found a MF 1030 locally with a MF FEL, this tractor has about 2500 hours on it. The 1030 has power steering and manual transmission, weighs about 3000 pounds and price is $7250.

I am also looking at a Yanmar 2620D without FEL for about $6500. The Yanmar appeals to me because it is heavier (3800 lbs) and along with the power steering also has powershift transmission and a little more horsepower. Problem with the Yanmar though is it might be a while until I can afford to add an FEL. I could plow snow using a rear 3 pt blade in the meantime, but that might not be too effective if we get another 24 to 36 inch snowstorm. I think the cost of adding a loader will probably be in the $2500 range at least, is that pretty close?

Is the extra expense of the Yanmar worthwhile to get the powershift and a little more HP and weight? Tractor data says the MF 1030 is made by Toyosho, but I thought it was pretty comparable to a Hinomoto E2304. I don't think parts should be a major problem for the MF or the Yanmar. What else should I consider?

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Longrange2.
As I said over on the Massey board, the MF 1030 should do what you want but Im in favor of a bigger tractor with more HP and weight for your purposes. My MF 1040 is 3800 lbs without the loader and Im guessing about another 1200 lbs with the MF 232 loader. I have about the same amount of property as you and I wouldnt want to go any smaller than I have now !

My vote is the bigger tractor!

 

[Mickey_Fx]

My only experience wityh MF is a 165D is used to have (loved that tractor) but is quite a bit larger than you are looking at. My current Yanmar is a real decent tractor and I do appreciate the power shift. Doing work with varying loads, being able to shift on the go as loads change is a REAL PLUS.

My Yanmar tips the scale at 4k# with me in the saddle and rear tires fluid filled. That's something like 1200# more than basic tractor.

If you go the Yanmar route, take a look at Koyker loaders.

One other thought is, the typ Yanmar wasn't designed with a FEL in mind. Front tires and rest of the front end might not hold up to the capacity of the FEL. I've gone to the trouble and weighed the tractor and ran the math to see how much weight the front end would see for every lb of FEL load. Worked out for every lb in the bucket, the front tires saw 2 lbs. Regretably, with the stk front tires, they are a little over their rated capacity with nothing in the bucket. With that said, I have picket up loads of ~800#. Nothing broke but rear end was quite light.

 

[mjarrels]

Parts availability and ease of maintenance... I vote Massey.

mark

 

[Tractors4u]

I can speak from experience in comparing both tractors. I had a Hinomoto E2304 which is pretty much a MF1030. Hinomoto built the Massey compacts for a while. It was a sweet tractor, it had plenty of power, a smooth ride and ran great. I put a loader on it and after about 6 months I broke the teeth off of two gears in the front axle. Another guy that I know personally broke the same gears and also cracked the bell housing on his. I later found out on one of the various tractor discussion forums that Massey strongly recommended a certain amount of counter weight on the 1030s when using an FEL to prevent damage to the tractor. It wasn't a safety issue as much as it was to prevent damage to the tractor. I believe there was even some language about voiding the warranty. The tractor that replaced my Hinomoto was a Yanmar 2620D. The ride wasn't as smooth(lack of suspension seat) as the Hinomoto, but you could pull a house with that thing. One afternoon a storm blew a 60 foot tall sweet gum tree across the ROPS of my 2620. The ROPS was actually a full cage. There was so much weight on that tractor that the back tire closest to the tree was completely compressed to the ground. My neighbor and I saw the tree and let the weight off of the tractor and the only damage was a busted canopy. The tire had not even blown out. I figured that the rear end would be messed up in some way but it wasn't. The Yanmar is a much more substantial tractor than the 1030. And what mjarrels said about parts availibility. You will have better availibilty with the Yanmar. There were some parts that I tried to buy and they stayed back ordered for months. I had to order the parts from a supplier in Japan. The part cost me $90 including shipping from Japan, Massey wanted $850 for it and AGCO Allis wanted $175. Both said that the part was not in any warehouse in the US.